I didn't have any friend's times to beat on 360, I was the only one interested in the game from my (small) friend's list. It's the same in DC, however the challenges make it fun to compete against a subset of people with similar level, instead of playing against the whole world all the time.
The racing just didn't really do it for me to keep me coming back. The sense of danger and speed is much better in DriveClub in the Super and Hyper classes. Plus I dislike corner cutting, which is encouraged in Forza Horizon.

Anyway apart from the wide open race tracks, all the tracks in Driveclub are demanding with their cornering, layout and Super/Hyper class handling. The fast sections are genuinly scary, while the tracks with fast udulating corners over hills demand full attention, the same trying to keep the best line in sets of tight chicanes, or not losing control cresting a bridge.

No problem in having different opinions but Horizon definitely has replayability built in which wasn't clear in the post before. Whether it fits your taste is a different story, of course.

People who really played the game = the game is a lot better than what the score tells.

People that didn't play, saw reviews or played few minutes = the game is mediocre and deserves the low score.

Which to believe? Choices to make.

Hey look I can make generalizations too! Also, since when does 71 = mediocre? This is the big problem with people looking at scores. Seems anything less than an 8.5 or something is interpreted by some as meaning the game is shit or the score is "mediocre".

I bought DC this morning. I played for a few hours, messed around in TT looking at the weather, played a few online events, got to driver level 7 and got the rookie trophy for completing the first chunk of campaign events. So far I think it's an enjoyable racer. The menus and UI are top notch. The sounds are good. The graphics are good. I think they could/should be better, but they're not a negative.

I have encountered some of the things the reviewers docked the game big points for though. The penalty system is frustrating and sporaddic. The AI is pretty lackluster in their determination to follow their line, and the way they can tank your car around trying to follow that set line is also frustrating. The handling model is baffling at times. The track design screams arcade racer but the handling is like halfway between arcade and sim. Online racers have, thus far, just been bumper cars as people plow into you over and over again, usually sending you crashing into a barrier or flying off the sacred track (which you are penalized for). The big issue for me is right now I am in the slower paced part of the campaign. If an AI car sideswipes me into an S curve dropping me back four positions in the rookie section, it's no big deal. If that were to happen when I get to the supercar section or on the last lap of an important race, fuck that nonsense. Especially when the AI car drives off scott free and I am penalized with an actual timed speed reduction for it.

Another positive I wanna touch on is the loading times are just outstanding. But I can certainly see why reviewers would score the game the way they did. And I don't think a weather patch update (which to me, makes people go gaga mostly because it covers up some of the games more glaring visual flaws) really touches on any of the core flaws people had with the game.

There are always people that don't like racing on tracks, just like to mess around in a big world. It's no different from people saying linear games are mediocre by default. There are still people claiming TloU is mediocre, personal preference.

I enjoy both and will get FH2 with my eventual XBox One purchase. Just not too soon after I've finally had enough of DC.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9hUgxN--Tk
Apart from it not looking as great, the roads are also a lot wider, removing a lot of skill, and you don't even have to stay on them. They seem wider than in Forza Horizon too, maybe it's just the camera angles. Anyway that's my personal preference. Other people enjoy cutting corners through fields. I'll be sticking to the roads when I play FH2 and curse at the cheating drivatars, then overtake them again :)

I uploaded two more videos
Kinloch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2j4zrsGEZjg

Skjolden (where I went flying before)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkTJ6NxyUK8

Youtube keeps asking if I would like to stabalise my videos lol.
I'm currently rediscovering all the tracks in India with weather. Very different experience in the wet. A night run in heavy rain there is about as difficult as the heavy snow run in Norway. Perhaps more difficult, I could not beat the AI at semi-pro level, and had to turn the rain down to dynamic to make up some time in sections where the rain lets off a bit.

India with cloudy weather and dynamic rain has you driving in the clouds in places. Looks like thick fog patches blowing over the road in front of you adding another level of sensory overload. In a multi lap race, what you could see the first lap might be gone the next.

i have the game and have been playing it fir hours. the game is fun but nothing special. my score for the game would be close to some of the reviews that reviewers gave. i would give driveclub a 7/10  which is still a good score.  For me the game drivng mechanics i way to simplistic , which provides no challenges when racing , even in cockpit view. The only challenge that the game brings is when the weather comes out.  Plus for me the track design so far are quite bland and boring . 

either both, or non of them

otherwise ur opinion is not less biased than the one of this both groups
it's not unusual, that some1 who played a game a long time likes it. why would u play it if u don't like it?
and it's not unusual either, that some1 who dislike a game, for whatever reason, did not even play it, or at least did not play it a long time

Yeah, they should add some Japanese and American cars and tracks and re-release it as "world edition".

I would probably agree with you on the first couple of hours. The hot hatch and sports class didn't do it for me either, nor were the early tour races that spectacular. I think a lot of reviewers based their opinion on the start of the game. Still there are a lot of people that enjoy the slow easy classes as I see plenty challenges pop up with those categories, and they're not bad for drift challenges.
The tracks are really designed for the super and hyper classes. Luckily it doesn't take long to open up the game to where it gets really good. The driving mechanics are definitely not simplistic in those. There is plenty challenge without weather in the higher classes.

It's the same with most racing games anyway. Forza Horizon didn't get good for me either until levelling up to pro and a bunch of upgrades. At least both games have something to look at while getting through the slow stage.

@swennoj--- As i play more of the game, i will rethink on my intial impression and see if by that stage, would i change my score . As Ludicrous speed mentioned, the penalty system is pretty crap and annoying as the AI only knows how bump you or try to take you out , reducing the score you get for the race. Plus while playing more, i noticed the AI has alot of catchup. No matter how good you drive , the AI will always really really close behind. You cannot be really far ahead of the AI. I would imagine that alone would reduce the score of thr game as it doesn't shwow the intelligence of the AI, its just a cheap way to add that extra challenge that the developers think it will add for the players when they do a race in driveclub.